So long 2011!

I just wanted to take a minute to tell all of my clients thank you! Every year seems to get better and better business wise and its all because of you. Every year I set goals (both personal and business) and each year you help me reach those goals! I was blown away today when I realized I did a total of 62 sessions/mini sessions/weddings this year. What? 62! How did that even happen? In 2009 I did 10 sessions total and now 62?!? Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would make it this far. So many of you have walked into my life as complete strangers and by the time your session was over you were already considered a dear friend. To those of you who have been my life long friends and family, who was there when I first started out, thank you for believing in me and for all of your honesty and encouragement - I would not of done this without y'all ;) To those of you are have been loyal - always coming back for more - thank you thank you thank you! You have no idea how much that means to me! To my mom - you're the best - thank you for always stepping in and being my extra set of hands - you have been a God send! To my fiancee, Alexx, who without him, I would of never started this adventure. Who bought me my first fancy camera and even set up a few of my first shoots (as I cried and complained because I was so scared ha!) - thank you for seeing my heart and understanding this is something I had always wanted to do and then helped make my dreams a reality ;)

  (note: not the best picture of me - but it just seemed so fitting)

 

I hope you all reach a dream in 2012 and that it will be your best year yet. I can not wait to see so many of y'all next year and excited to meet some new friends ;) I have lots of new stuff floating around in my head that I cant wait to share!

loves ya!

xo

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Mr & Mrs Hopkins

September 17th, 2011 I had the honor of capturing Michael and Lakeisha Hopkins wedding!  It took place at the Holiday Inn in DeSoto, TX. I aboslutely LOVED the colors of the wedding! Of course, everything was perfect thanks to Felicia Leffall at Felicia's One Stop Event Planning!

I always love spending time with the Bride and her Bridesmaid before the ceremony - its always a blast and this group did not disappoint - lots of laughs ;)

This was a very special moment!

I LOVE this photo - this was the last few moments before she walked downstairs to say "I do"...

Is their little boy not the cutest little thing in the world! Good grief he was precious!

First dance as husband and wife ;) - i love the way they are looking at each other!

Told ya this was a fun group! hahaha I love watching people on the dance floor!

I can never stress to Brides enough - please have a great Maid of Honor! I NEED you to have an amazing MOH - they help so many of your vendors on the day of. Thank goodness LaBre'sha was the bomb.com! She was incredible at the bridal session and awesome at the wedding! (sorry just had to give props where props are due! ha)

cuteness.

The reception  - im tellin ya go check out Felicia's One Stop Event Planning and tell her I sent ya. She is amazing! I have worked with her on two different weddings now and she is incredible. Everything runs smooth and is always right on time!

Mike & Lakeisha - thank you so so much for allowing me to capture your special day! It was a pleasure working with y'all (even when it felt like the big day would NEVER get here ha!) It was a blast getting to know y'all and to see the special you have. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness!

x0

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Lakeshia Hopkins (Henry) Bridals

This summer I met up with Lakeshia for her bridal portraits. I was SO excited as I had been wanting to shoot at the NYLO for a long time, so when she said she was down I was thrilled! Lakeshia's MOH joined her for the shoot and we had a blast - lots of laughs. Brides, I can not stress to you enough - always bring someone you trust/dependable to your photo shoot - they will be your second pair of hands, will put you at ease and they will help me tremendously - overall, they make the entire shoot better. 

Ok so now do y'all see why I was so excited about the NYLO?!?! Its gorgeous and bold and so unusual. Lakeshia totally ROCKED it! 

Ok so the picture above - SWOON! I love LOVE love it! Absolutely gorgeous - definitely one of my favs.

And another one of my favorites above - it just screams sass, class and everything in between! BAM!

Ok I know this is a long post - just a few more pictures,K? K! I'm sorry I just have so many favorites and have just been dying to share!

I am in LOVE with the vintagy/glamorous feel here. Oh Lakeshia, you are gorgeous girl!

So when I saw this last photo pop up on my screen while editing I'm pretty sure I danced a little jig! ha This one blows me away! Lakeshia thank you thank you THANK YOU for trusting me with this location and for allowing me to be apart of this exciting time in your life! I have so enjoyed talking to you and getting to know you for the past year ;)

Y'all get ready - Lakeshia and Mike just tied the knot so be watching for that post coming soon ;)

x0

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Daniel Turns 2!

Can you believe Daniel turned 2 in July?!?! One thing I LOVE about my job is when I get to document your life year by year. Check out Daniel turning one here. When I went back and looked at that post I could not get over how in a year D went from a baby to this:

WHAT the WHAT?!? He is practically a teenage boy here! Plus, this year we weren't able to just give him a sucker and sit him on a blanket - nope this year I lost 5 pounds from chasing him around. He seriously did not want much to do with me at all, but that's OK because the few pictures I did get are perfect-O. 

We found this old plane at an Antique Store - it rocked - well until Daniel insisted on crawling into the back engine thingy...

After the antique store, and some bribing, we headed to a local park. Amy, the gorgeous woman above. is my cousin - I am so beyond in LOVE with this picture - it makes me teary every time I look at it. I call Amy and Daniel twins, but seriously they look just alike - especially if you look at Amy's baby picture - holy moly. 

well Hellloooo stud muffin!

This last picture completely melts my heart into a million pieces. Daniel had been running around like a wild man all day - wanting nothing much to do with me, but then, all of a sudden, he squatted down in front of me for a good several minutes and was just so sweet and was talking to me. I love the tenderness you see in his eyes, along with his all boy curiosity. ;)

Daniel - I love you sweet boy! Thank you for making me laugh every time I am with you, you will always have a special place in my heart. ;)

xo

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Melissa Fairchild

I know what you're thinking - you are shocked to actually see a new post! I seem to do really well for awhile about writing posts and then BAM its like I cant keep up - dont worry, blog updates are already on my 2012 resolution list ;) 

I met Melissa this summer for a photo shoot. She is a life coach and wanted some new photos for her website. 

When I found out she was a Life Coach I had so many questions!  I'm surprised she didn't send me a bill in the mail after our  photo session with all the questions I was asking ;) Melissa is one of those people who instantly calms your nerves - don't ask me how - she just has a very peaceful way about her. Which is great for people like me who are high strung and dramatic! haha

Ok time out about the Life Coach business - I must say right now that I LOVE this photo! Purple looks stunning on you! Gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS! Also, don't ya think Melissa looks like Helena Bonham Carter ?!?! Which by the way is one of my favorite actresses ;)

Ok so back to her job - Melissa specializes in trauma - such as dealing with a child hood experience, dealing with death, etc.. I think that is amazing! What an incredible gift to have!

So when our photo session ended Melissa offered me a free coaching session! I was excited and nervous - I mean I had no idea what we would talk about or if it would be totally awkward, but I also loved the idea of getting some advice and just to see exactly what it is she does.  When the time came we had a session over the phone. I decided to talk to her about my business - its growing like crazy, but I need to be able to pace myself and not get overwhelmed, before I knew it I was talking up a storm and Melissa had so many ideas and insights (on even how to grow my business) that I had never even thought about. I hung up the phone feeling refreshed and not so overwhelmed. It was a great experience!

I strongly encourage you to check out her website here - as I said before you dont have to go through something traumatic to talk to her - that is just what she specializes in! If you contact her please tell her I sent ya ;)

Melissa - Thank you for our enlightening coaching session - I am reminded of it frequently and it has defintely helped! You are an amazing, strong and idependent woman - I can not wait to watch as your business grows. 

You ROCK!

x0

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Loryn & Dalton Teater

Earlier this summer I met up with Loryn and Dalton for a short session - they were less than thrilled to be there, but after I promised to make the session as quick as possible they agreed to give me their best! ha They were really just doing it for their mom - who had promised to hide the extremely outdated family photo that was hanging up in their house LOL

L & D were actually alot of fun to work with, they were both so sweet and willing to do just whatever. I seriously could of photographed these two all day - they are gorgeous with some amazing eyes!

The Teaters actually just moved here from Arkansas, the crazy thing is I have know L & D's parents for years and years - they actually use to live here and (before kids) taught at my alma mater. It was so nice to see them again and catch up.

I think this one was my absolute favorite of Loryn, seriously this girl is a heart breaker!

stud muffin!

Loryn & Dalton - it was so great meeting y'all! Thank you for being such great sports - I hope you love the pictures! ;)

Rene - it was fantastic to see you again! xo

Xo

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Cynthia, Alye & Maddy

Back in May I got SO super excited - for two reasons 1. One of my oldest childhood friends (friends since 2nd grade) was moving back to where she belongs (Waxahachie) and 2. We were doing a photo shoot with her and her two girls.

I was so thrilled about this session - until the day of - because then I thought back to year prior when Cynthia came down to visit and we had this session The session that consisted of over two hours of dirty looks, bawling, and gnashing of teeth, bribery, sweat and tears. The girls hated me and wanted me gone pronto - when we finally started getting some good shots of Alye, in the field, she then feel into a huge ant pile and the session had to end (poor baby). Cynthia and I both prayed this session would be better.

When I first got there Cynthia and I just looked at each other and took deep breaths - we already knew what each other was thinking (don't friends like that just ROCK?) To my our surprise the girls were fantastic - Alye was AMAZING - not only did she cooperate, but she was a perfect little model! Oh my heart melted. 

Oh Alye - you look so much like your mother! Can you believe those eyes? Geez Whiz this child is gonna be a heart breaker!

 Then there was this child - meet miss sassy britches Maddy. An almost two year old with the attitude of a 13 year old! haha This was the first picture I took of her - what makes it even funnier is she did not cry - she just gave me these looks - I learned real quick who was boss ;) Maddy is so full of personality and you just cant help to fall in love with her, because when she does smile - she lights up your world ;)

I LOVE this picture of Maddy & Cynthia - now you can see where these girls get their gorgeous eyes!

This photo stops me in my tracks every time.

I hope the girls cherish this picture of them when they are older - I could not love it any more.

This is basically how Maddy felt about me and my camera.

This last photo made me cry when I was editing it. I think it just captures such a sweet and tender moment between a mother and her daughters. You can really see the love and laughter they have with each other - such a strong bond. 

C, A & M - Thank you for letting capture this new chapter in your life. C - you are amazing and I have never been more proud to call you my friend! loves ya!

x0

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